Common Snapping Turtle family photo

Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

I jumped into a local stream to grab what I thought was certainly an alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), and only realized after grabbing it that it was a huge common snapping turtle! Elliott was understandably both impressed and intimidated. It was fun and funny to me to take a little family photo with the turtle! I put the turtle down a few meters back from the water just to see how it would do on land. It was a surprisingly strong walker, lifting its plastron completely off the ground rather than sliding, as it made it's way into the water and promptly disappeared in the shadows. (photos by William, a friendly guy at the park who had already been pointing at the turtle when we walked up)